BEIJING - A national online archive of individuals and companies guilty of bribery has been established to better combat corruption, China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced Thursday.

The archive connects all local databases for convicted bribers, making their names available across the country for public inquiry, according to a statement from the SPP. Prior to this, there was no national listing.

Hu Zejun, acting SPP deputy procurator-general, said the national online system will help to overcome geographical limitations in investigating bribery cases and make public inquiries more convenient, consequently helping reduce and prevent bribery.

According to the statement, institutions or individuals can apply for an inquiry if suspicious about an individual or company. Anyone discovered to be on the list will likely be disqualified for bidding on government projects or companies will even forbidden from operating, Hu said.

The archive was also designed to meet the needs of investigators, who have been handed an increasing number of bribery cases in recent years, especially in the country's developed regions, according to an unidentified official of the SPP.

Procuratorates at all levels have accepted 1.39 million inquiries since they started to accept public inquiries in 2006. A total of 1,983 companies and 3,075 individuals in the blacklist were handled, according to the official.